Knowledge production and the predicaments of postcolonial scholarly book publishing in Africa: an illustrative reflection

Employing the mixed-method approach of an integrative literature review, a study of an African university press and key informant interviews, this study critically evaluates the relationship between knowledge production and scholarly publishing in postcolonial Africa. Drawing on Munoz’s rationality of tradition as a conceptual framework, this paper argues that academic publishing houses in African universities are caught between two major predicaments. The first is the Western-centric hegemony on knowledge production, which too often considers knowledge produced in the Global South inferior. The second is the difficulty publishing houses in African universities face in producing knowledge that aligns with the highest global standards. This paper argues that funding of university presses alone cannot dismantle postcolonial knowledge dominion. Rather, to address both dilemmas, a nuanced approach that considers the many complexities of Africa’s knowledge landscape is needed. This approach will enable university presses to attain international best practices in knowledge production while deflating the inferiority label.